Questioning Ballet: My Response to Mr Segal's Article

This could otherwise be entitled, "An Attempt to to Pull My Thoughts Together and Write a Thorough Response" as I have just waded out of a swamp of statistical concepts in which I have been soaking in since this morning in preparation for an exam on Monday. Whew!

I'm not in total disagreement with some of the points raised by Mr Segal. I am, however, extremely turned off by the writing style. Maybe he was trying to be hip and funny but he comes across as insulting instead of exuding wisdom as an art critic and knowledge of the art form he so easily dismisses as "decaying, danced by the disenfranchised".

Ballet companies, from the New York City Ballet to our own Ballet Manila and PBT, are suffering from a slump in ticket sales. And they are no loners in this struggles as museums and orchestras are on tight budget as well, the world over. This is not fresh news. But Mr Segal writes that this is simply proof of the "intimidation factor" of ballet, of the "tutu as icon --- and armor".

Ballet and an intimidation factor? I'll admit that it does have that effect sometimes and that sometimes it's our (choreographers, dancers, balletomanes) fault. We have a tendency to let the rigorous and difficult training to get into our heads and we look down on other dance forms. Sorry for that. Still, some of us simply can't react on other dance forms because ballet training takes up all our time and energy. Little is left in us to be exposed to other dance forms.

Most of us have a healthy respect for other dances. At the ballet school I attend, our teacher mixes in some jazz and hip hop dancing from time to time. She encourages us to try out ballroom and folk dances. Ballet academies the world over have classes in tap and ballroom for their students to participate in. The great etoiles themselves immerse themselves in different dance forms as part of their training.

Ballet is also very expensive, both for those who dance and those who watch. A simple comparison of the expenses of a Jazz Dance class to a Ballet class could possibly discourage a student. Audiences in the US can pay around $300 for front seats NYCB tickets to the Nutcracker this season. Back row tickets cost $22. [Personally, that's not too high considering the standard that NYCB has.] But Mr Segal fails to see how companies and dancers try to cultivate a closer relationship with audiences and students. Major companies have outreaches and dance classes for those who want to immerse themselves more in the art.

Here in the Philippines, one can watch Giselle and Swan Lake performed by the Philippine Ballet Theater for P300. You can see La Bayedere, the Nutcracker, and Romeo and Juliet danced by Ballet Manila [directed by Principal Dancer Lisa Macuja-Elizalde] for as low as P150. How's that compared to what you'll pay for a Backstreet Boys concert?

Many artists and directors work towards the dream of bringing ballet into every person's life. Lisa Macuja-Elizalde came back to the Philippines from the Kirov Ballet (one of the world's premier ballet companies) with the dream of bringing the art into every region of the Philippines. Our ballet companies back home create masterpieces that incorporate Filipino culture and art with ballet technique.

As for its place in contemporary times, ballet is trying to move along with the times without sacrificing its form. It does not uphold its history as an excuse to replay what Mr Segal calls a "decaying repertory". Every year, artistic directors, choreographers and managers spend much time and money on finding the next new thing. Every ballet you watch offers the chance to see that ballet in a new interpretation because the dancers are seldom the same and each choreographer and ballerina will have her own interpretation of the dance. This is not an art form written down word for word or painted in a specific way. It is like folk tales handed down from generation to generation. That over the years, choreogrpahers and dancers alike will change how a dance is performed cannot be basis for calling today's repertories forgeries. The sturcture and form remain the same even if the interpretation varies thus the credit to the original choreographer.

Segal's comment as to how ballet turns out "obedient classical atheletes" who are "forever young" is a diatribe of gymnastics, figure skating, beauty pageants and Hollywood careers (in general) as well. This is a social(?) cultural(?) thing that cannot be dumped on ballet. Besides, dancing six hours a day takes it's toll on the body. It is not for aesthetics but practical reasons that dancers and atheletes alike retire at earlier ages than most of us. It is a sad truth of ballet like it is the sad fact that many sports experts expect Michelle Kwan to give up on her Olympic dream because she will be 29 years old.

I am no professional ballerina so I can't say anything on it. But my teacher once is, and she admits that there are problems of drug abuse and anorexia in the professional world. Dancers are under constant pressure to maintain the weight and body required for lifts and the clean lines ballet is known for. However, this problem is again a problem that runs in other sports and art forms.

I disagree entirely with Mr Segal's point that while "Classical music still shakes us to the core" and "...classical theater speaks of the eternal issues that define our lives" ballet fails to move audiences. I watch DVDs and I am moved to tears by particular performances. Of course, not every performance will do so. Even those who are not fanatics and those with no previous exposure to ballet appreciate the art. My mother watched the DVDs I brought home and she loved them! Even my guy cousins were astounded by the clip I showed them of Paloma Herrera and Angel Corella dancing the grand pas de deux in Don Quixote. Little kids still love The Nutcracker and a new generation of balletomanes comes alive whenever parents bring their children to the ballet.

The art form has persisted through difficulties and the changing times while maintaining the technique and form that makes it unique. I bet it will last longer than the chatter generated by Mr Lewis Segal's tabloid style article.

Long live the tutu!